Sixers' Moultrie to stay in D-League as long as it takes,' Brown says

The Sixers’ Arnett Moultrie makes a shot against Orlando during a game last March 10. Moultrie has yet to play for the Sixers this year and was sent to the Delaware 87ers to play his way into shape. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

PHILADELPHIA — Arnett Moultrie’s trip to the D-League has no end date, and 76ers coach Brett Brown said Moultrie’s assignment to the Delaware 87ers is not correlated to the forward’s comments from earlier in the week.

Moultrie has yet to play for the Sixers this season as he continues rehab on the surgically repaired right ankle he injured in pre-training camp workouts. Moultrie claimed before Monday’s game in Brooklyn that his inactivity is related neither to his ankle nor his fitness.

The second-year man said he “is just sick of all the excuses. If it ain’t one thing, it’s another thing.”

Meanwhile, Brown has said publicly that Moultrie, who was cleared for practice Dec. 31, will not play until he’s in basketball shape. Brown stuck to that Wednesday, while speaking to reporters prior to tip-off against Boston.

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“It was actually planned long before (Moultrie’s) comments,” Brown said. “You see a young player that competitively wants to get out on the court. In a twisted way, you applaud that.

“The bottom line is we asked our players to get in career-best fitness. That is one of those non-negotiables. We want him to play well when he ultimately gets on an NBA court. For him to be away for the duration he has and just throw him out when it’s not at the career-best fitness that we demand from our program, then we’re not going to do it.”

Brown said Moultrie will remain in the D-League “as long as it takes him to reach his fitness standards.”

“When he does reach our standards, we look forward to welcoming him back in the mix,” Brown said. “I don’t want to make this bigger than it is. Everybody’s looking for something. It’s just a 23-year-old that wants to play and we want to get him in a shape where he can deliver at a good rate and life moves on.”

The Mississippi State product, and the 27th overall pick in the 2012 draft, Moultrie has looked gassed while working out with Sixers assistant Lloyd Pierce in pregame sprints. In rim-to-rim workouts after the team’s most-recent practices at PCOM, the 6-10, 240-pounder also has appeared fatigued.

Moultrie has missed the season’s first 49 games. He averaged 3.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 47 games his rookie season.

Moultrie was sent to the 87ers Tuesday, scoring 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting, and adding three rebounds in 21 minutes of Delaware’s win. Brown said he spoke with 87ers coach Rod Baker, and got a sound report on Moultrie.

“He came down there with a professional attitude,” Brown said, “and didn’t treat it like it was detention.”

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Injured guard Jason Richardson is getting his first taste of on-court activity in 12 months, and said he’s looking toward mid-March as a possible return date for the 76ers.

Richardson, who underwent left knee surgery Feb. 19, 2013, started taking short jumpers Monday. He’s doing that an hour a day for one to two weeks. Barring any incidents, he’ll graduate to sliding and shooting, catching and shooting and beyond.

As for the 33-year-old’s role when he returns…

“Player/coach,” Richardson said. “I’ve been through everything and had a long career. Scoring doesn’t matter to me. It’s all about winning. When you’re on a young team like this, it’s all about teaching. Coaching might be something I want to get into when my career is over. What better way to start than while you’re playing?”

That’s a good thing, too, because his play declined as last season wore on.

Traded to Philly in August 2012, in the same four-team deal that netted Andrew Bynum, Richardson averaged 10.5 points and shot 40.2 percent overall in 33 games last season. His shooting percentage declined each month, until he sustained his knee injury in January 2013.

Richardson is due $6.2 million this season and holds a $6.6 million player option, which he’s likely to pick up, for the 2014-15 season.

The elder statesman of the Sixers, Richardson said he has a voice in the locker room, but that his teammates “get tired of listening to me.” He said he’d like to play “until I’m 50” if he can, but that he’s not willing to chase a championship before his playing career comes to a close.

“That’s one thing I’ve always wanted to do, is win a championship, ever since I was a young guy in this league,” Richardson said, “but I won’t chase a championship. I won’t do it. I don’t think, to me personally, that’s the right way to do it. Even though you want one, I would never hop teams to chase one.”